Backstage Drama at Marcus Center Broadway Series

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Photo: Playbill

Mean Girls tour

Mean Girls on tour

This has been a year unlike any other for the performing arts, whether one lives in Milwaukee, New York City or Timbuktu. Shows everywhere are struggling to survive amid the current COVID-19 environment. It has been difficult for everyone: actors, musicians, producers, ushers, box office staff, etc.  Even audiences can be impacted by last-minute cancellations of a show they’ve been waiting months to see.

While Broadway continues its off and on cycle of postponements (“on hiatus” status) and cancellations, national touring companies haven’t been spared, either. In January, tour promoters and the Marcus Performing Arts Center staff were admittedly biting their fingernails over the future of the upcoming Mean Girls tour.

Normally as cool and collected as they come, the Marcus Center’s Heidi Lofy admits she was “holding her breath” before the Mean Girls tour arrived (January 25-30). Lofy, who has worked at the Marcus Center for 20 years (in June), has overcome many tour hiccups in her role as vice president of experience and engagement.

But this situation was unlike anything Lofy had faced before. Positive COVID-19 tests had swept through the Mean Girls cast, making it impossible for the show to continue its early January run in Tulsa, Okla. The next two cities on the tour’s January list, Appleton and Madison, were knocked out, too. It wasn’t looking good for the Milwaukee run.

Mean Girls Cast Recovers as Month Rolls On

Then, as things sometimes do, the situation turned around. Suddenly, enough cast members were testing negative for COVID. It was full steam ahead to Milwaukee. As it turned out, not a single performance of the Milwaukee run was cancelled.

Appleton and Madison, which weren’t as fortunate, have been able to reschedule the Mean Girls tour for mid- to late August. Ticket holders for January performances were asked to hold onto their tickets for the August run, although refunds were offered, too.

In this respect, Milwaukee theatergoers have been luckier than most around the country. Tours that moved through town earlier in the season, such as Hamilton (Oct. 13-24, 2021) and Jesus Christ Superstar (Nov. 23-28, 2021) breezed through town with no trouble. The Broadway Series at the Marcus Center is sponsored by the Johnson Financial Group.

Part of the reason that Broadway tours have been able to stay on schedule, while performances on Broadway have not, is that tour operators have more flexibility in keeping their shows afloat. Some of the now-familiar tactics in post-pandemic theater: either move the “swings” and understudies into more prominent roles or fly in former cast members—who are now living all over the country – and have them perform for touring cast members who are “out” under COVID protocols.

It certainly helped the Mean Girls tour that the Broadway show already had closed. Touring audiences have been able to see top talent play the same roles they did on Broadway.

That is also the case for Pretty Woman, which recently played in Milwaukee (March 1-6). The Broadway show didn’t reopen after the pandemic hit. As a result, touring audiences were treated to top-caliber, New York-based performers. This included Pretty Woman Broadway leads Olivia Valli and Adam Pascal playing the show’s romantic couple, Vivian and Edward.

Three More Touring Shows Ahead in Current Season

Milwaukee’s Broadway season isn’t done, however, and Marcus Center staffers are closely watching daily progress on each tour’s situation.

Here’s the list: Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations (April 5-10), followed by Cats (May 10-15) and Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (May 31-June 5). The final show’s title separates it from the popular film starring Shorewood native Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. Lofy notes that the show “will be a bit darker than the film,” but that it’s still a great show for kids to see.” Both Cats and Charlie are billed as “family-friendly” shows. Of course, middle-school students and high school teens who are looking for the classic Motown sound need look no further than Ain’t Too Proud. That musical is a lively blend of songs and athletic dance moves, not to mention an overlooked dose of American music history.

There’s another musical on the Marcus Center horizon, too.  Jersey Boys will play here July 22 and 23, with two performances scheduled for each day. Also announced is the ever-popular Blue Man Group, playing on April 30 and May 1.

If any Marcus Center shows has to cancel a performance for any reason, Lofy says that the staff has a “game plan” in place to alert subscribers and ticket buyers as soon as possible. If such a situation arises, some people will be contacted with an email alert, while others will receive a pre-recorded telephone “blast.”

Later this spring, the Marcus Center plans to announce a free app that will not only alert ticket holders about changes but will contain information related to parking and weather. 

What’s Ahead for the 2023-24 Broadway Series

Some longtime Broadway Series subscribers are already looking forward to the 2023-24 season. As the Marcus Center has done in the past (pre-pandemic), a season announcement event is scheduled for subscribers on March 29. Lofy said some of the other subscription series will also be announced at the event.

However, since the pandemic is still a factor, this season’s event will be scaled down from the size of events in previous years. While Lofy isn’t giving out any hints on what’s ahead, a number of shows from the following list are likely candidates: The Prom, Hadestown, Beetlejuice, Moulin Rouge!, Tina–The Tina Turner Musical, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Aladdin, Oklahoma! and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.

While all of these Broadway shows will have tours roaming the country next year, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be coming to Milwaukee. For one thing, tours must work around complicated schedules. And shows that are currently playing in Chicago (such as Moulin Rouge!) will probably have to wait their turn to be considered for Milwaukee audiences. (Milwaukee is just slightly within the 100-mile radius used by tour operators to determine where shows are going to travel.)

COVID protocols in effect at the Marcus Center will change on March 14. Starting that day, proof of vaccination or a negative, recent COVID test will no longer be required. Starting March 28, mask-wearing will become optional.

For now, touring show actors continue to receive COVID tests on a daily basis. While in Milwaukee and other towns on their tours, they basically “live inside a bubble,” Lofy notes. Furthermore, no guests are allowed backstage at any time, and stage door conversations after the show are discouraged. Even opening night cast parties, which include local invited guests, are cancelled for now.

As for marketing the tours to local audiences, early-morning visits to Milwaukee-area radio and TV stations are now done via Zoom. Lofy, who often drove cast members to these media stops pre-pandemic, says that in the past, the actors usually looked forward to these appearances.

Uihlein Hall’s New Seating Configuration Earns Applause

As for the Marcus Center Broadway Series subscriber base, which Lofy says has remained “really strong,” many subscribers have chosen to remain with the program during this unprecedented time. One subscriber benefit is that subscriber can continue to hold the same seats, year after year, if they choose. However, a portion of subscribers had to be reassigned following a major remodel of the seating plan. Marcus Center staff decided to do this while the facility was closed during the early months of the pandemic.

Uihlein Hall, where Broadway tours are performed, now holds about 200 fewer seats. With fewer seats, Lofy says they’ve had to be creative during the current season. She promises that next season should result in a more coherent approach to seating.

The new configuration allows for more accessible seating spaces which, Lofy says, “we’ve wanted to do for a very long time.” The new set-up can accommodate many more viewers who use wheelchairs and other mechanical devices for mobility.

Subscribers have been very positive overall about the new seating arrangement, which contains additional aisle space. “Again, thinking about COVID-19 protocols, we now don’t have people walking through long rows to get to their seats. She says another plus is that people tend to be able to exit the theater more quickly, whether during intermission or at the end of a performance. There’s also a new air filtration system that improves the process of circulating fresh air into the hall.

Broadway touring shows, much like the plays and musicals that end up on Broadway, will always be a risky enterprise. Even in the best of times, there’s no guarantee of success. But touring show producers remained determined to overcome all obstacles to bring these shows to the masses. Recently, most of the tours now roaming the country have stayed on course, despite continuing issues regarding cast members and positive COVID-19 tests. And Milwaukee has been incredibly lucky in dodging this bullet when it comes to its performance schedule. Broadway show lovers can be thankful for that.